After an intense week, the Fellows have officially set up a new treatment center and prepared their village, Wambong, for its grand opening! The village, originally thought to have had a maximum of 35 households, turned out to have over 104! So they’ve definitely had their hands full.

The week started with testing the water from the Wambong dugout.

The beautiful and huge Wambong dugout.

The Fellows' initial water test showed that Wambong's dugout water, though beautiful, was indeed dirty.

James, thanks to all his recent training, was able to decipher the fact that Wambong's dugout water was indeed contaminated.

James caught in a candid photo

Sarah and her new friend, her water test from the Wambong Dam.

* Next, the Fellows, met with the chief and elders of Wambong (55 village leaders were present in the meeting!) and explained that the village’s drinking water was dirty. They proposed working with Wambong and explained CWS’s approach. This meeting is the most important part of the process. It’s the initial contact with the community and establishes the relationship between the village and CWS moving forward. Ben did an excellent job leading the hour long meeting. Unfortunately, out of respect, we never allow photographs during these meetings.

The village leaders were excited to work with CWS and the Fellows set to work on building the new treatment center.

The spot for the new Wambong treatment center was selected and ground was broken

The foundation for the center was laid.

The villagers all pitched in to help build their center.

It's unanimous. Wambong has the best treatment stand yet!

The CWS Summer Fellows all left their mark on their masterpiece and returned the next day with the rest of the center.

The Wambong Treatment Center!

Ben and James teaching the children of Wambong the importance of clean drinking water and using the CWS safe storage containers as well as letting them know about the new treatment center

The Fellows' little helpers during storage container distribution.

Amaia, Molly, and Sarah spent two days teaching the women in charge of the Wambong center the process for treating the dugout water as well as how to manage the money from water sales.

Sarah, Amaia, Molly, and Peter teaching the women how to treat the water.

With the treatment center built, the containers distributed, and the women trained, the Wambong treatment center was ready to open!

Saha Global (formerly known as Community Water Solutions) empowers women in rural communities to solve their village’s need for clean water and electricity by providing business opportunities. How do we do it? We bring leaders from around the world to Ghana through our Global Leadership Program where they train local women to launch profitable social enterprises. All of the revenue from these businesses stays in the community and is managed by the women entrepreneurs. To date, Saha Global has launched 71 clean water businesses and 5 solar electricity businesses, which empower 164 women entrepreneurs who serve 38,108 people. 100% of these businesses are still in operation today.

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